St. Mary s Catholic School 1019 South 7 th Street, Temple, Texas 76504 254-778-8141 St Mary s, Moving Forward and Renewing Our Commitment to Quality Catholic Education Falcon s Pride A weekly newsletter of the current events at St. Mary s Catholic School October 20, 2015 Issue 48 www.stmarys-temple.org Dear Parents and Guardians, Today our 8 th graders traveled to Holy Trinity Catholic High School for a visit. The HT bus picked up our 8 th graders this morning and they were able to take part in a Praise and Worship service, school tour, a panel discussion with former SMCS students at Holy Trinity and a Skype with Sarah Baker (daughter of Mrs. Baker- grade 1). The students were then treated to lunch and given goodie bags with shirt, fall schedule, bracelet and a personal invite to a game. Thank you to Holy Trinity for welcoming our 8 th graders. School is dismissed at 3:30. Please be prompt when picking up your child. If your child is not registered for the Zone there is no after school care. Teachers have responsibilities after school is dismissed and are not available. Mrs. Vargas seems to be watching children almost every day until 4:00. Also, remember, we begin class at 8:00 a.m. Please be prompt so your child does not miss quality learning time. Students may begin entering the classroom at 7:45. First quarter reports cards will be sent home tomorrow. All parents are required to attend a parent-teacher conference following the first quarter. Your child s teacher will schedule this conference with you between October 22 nd and November 4 th. This is your time to discuss your child s progress and concerns you and your teacher may have. Junior High service hours should be turned in to your child s Religion teacher. These hours will not be reflected in the Religion grade until the end of the semester, when one half of the required hours must be accomplished. If you have questions please contact your child s Religion teacher. Parents, please do not allow your child to wear perfume or cologne to school. Many students and teachers are allergic.
Have a wonderful week. God bless you for all you do. Sincerely, Mrs. Wyles NEWS AND INFORMATION A Smile from Father Steve Fishers of Men.. You catch them, God cleans them. Honor Roll and AR Awards Awards for Honor Roll and Accelerated Reader will be held on Thursday, October 29 th at 2:00 p.m. in the church. PSIA Sign-ups for PSIA end this Friday, October 23 rd. If your child would like to participate please make sure he/she does not miss the chance. The sign-up sheet is in the office. Below is a list of events that students may compete in. Art Memory 4/5 & 6-8 Maps, Graphs & Charts 4-8 Calculator 6-8 Mathematics 2-8 Poetry 4-8 Creative Writing 1-2 Modern Oratory 7/8 Ready Writing 3-8 Dictionary Skills 4-8 Music Memory 3-8 Science 6-8 Impromptu Speaking 7/8 Numbers Sense 4-8 Spelling 2-8 Listening Skills 4-8 On-Site Drawing 6-8 Storytelling 1-3 We are also in need of coaches in the following areas. Mathematics 4-8 Calculator Applications 6-8 Listening Skills 4-8 Ready Writing 3-8
Save the Date: November 21st St. Mary s Catholic School Trust Fund will be holding our annual Casino Night to raise money for our school. This year s funds will be used to pay for the new chiller that was purchased to keep our school children cool. Tickets are on sale now $50.00 each This Year's Theme Is: A Night in Vegas Includes Music, Food, & Drinks Live and Silent Auctions Games and Prizes Join us for a fun evening! Holy Rosary Each Wednesday throughout October, our students will be praying the Holy Rosary at 2:00 p.m. in church. The month of October each year is dedicated to the Most Holy Rosary. It was instituted to honor the Blessed Virgin Mary in gratitude for the protection that she gives the Church in answer to the praying of the Rosary by the faithful. Our next Rosary is October 21 st at 2:00 p.m with the Elementary grades. Please join us if you can. Socks for our Homeless Veterans Please help Mason McHugh, grade 7, collect socks for our homeless veterans. What a simple gift to give to those who gave so much for us. As the weather becomes cooler help Mason help those who are in need. Please drop your socks off in the plastic container outside the office. Thank you Mason, for your service to our community. Please see the attached flyer. Christ the King s Turkey Trot Christ the King Youth Ministry is hosting a family event, our first Turkey Trot on Sunday, November 8 th. Please join us for a great walk or run, 3K or 5K starting at Christ the King Catholic Church at noon, following 10:30 a.m. Mass. Registration is $25 for adults, $15 for students with a $75 family maximum. Registration includes a t-shirt and entry to the run. There will be prizes for top runners in several age categories and for best dressed turkey costume. Registration forms are attached and can be turned into Suzi Rockwood and t-shirts will be available as of Monday, October 19 th. Register early to ensure that you get a t-shirt. Lunch will be available for purchase in the Parish Hall. Money raised will help to send our high school students to DCYC (Diocesan Catholic Youth Conference) in January. Thank you for joining us for a fun afternoon that will help provide a great opportunity for our youth to grow in their faith. God Squad Car Wash Update Over the weekend, the God Squad held a car wash at Garlyn Shelton. The purpose of the car wash was to raise funds to purchase an AmTryke for a child with disabilities. The girls want to be able to give at least one as a Christmas gift this year to a child in our community who is in need. To date, over 30,000 Amtrykes have been provided around the United States. The
majority of these trykes are purchased by volunteer members of the AMBUCS organization and donated free of charge to financially-needy children or Veterans in their own community. The cost of one bike is approximately $600-$800. Saturday the girls raised $453 towards their goal. If you would like to donate to this cause, please contact Tamara Burdine, cheer coach, at tlburdine@msn.com. You can find out more about National AMBUCS and Amtryke, LLC at www.ambucs.org. Amtryke, LLC is fully owned and operated by National AMBUCS, Inc. a nationwide 501c3 nonprofit charity dedicated to creating mobility and independence for people with disabilities. Opportunity to JOIN the God Squad This past summer, the girls identified a few things that they would like to do this fall. Our next opportunity is to support the 2015 Bell Co. Walk to End Alzheimer s. It is on Saturday morning, November 7th. We are opening this event to any St. Mary s students that would like to help. Positions to help are limited so if your child is intereted in helping, please contact Tamara Burdine ASAP to get your name on the list. While the God Squad is volunteering, they are also looking for walkers' so this is a great opportunity to get your whole family out and supporting this great cause. It is a two mile walk. For more information, and to join the team God Squad check out www.alz.org. Those walking on this team are doing it in honor of the St. Mary's parishioners with Alzheimer's and dementia and in memory of those we have lost. Thank you and if walking be sure to register under the team God Squad! Cheer News The Pep Rally has been moved to Friday, October 30th at 2:00 p.m! We will see you there! 8 th Grade Parents/Guardians Graduation Date Change. Just in case you missed the email sent to all 8 th grade parents last week. Monday-Wednesday, May 16 th -18 th : Final Exams for 8 th grade Thursday, May 19 th : Eighth grade Fun Day (location to be determined) Friday, May 20 th : 8:15 a.m. Baccalaureate Mass in graduation gowns. This liturgical celebration is a thanksgiving ceremony to honor and thank God for the blessings given to the graduating students and to their families. 9:30 a.m. Eighth Grade Graduation Breakfast with their families. This will be sponsored by the 7 th grade class. 12:00 noon. Eighth graders are dismissed. Last day of school for 8 th graders.
Saturday, May 21 st : 10:00 a.m. Graduation Mass in graduation gowns. 6:00 p.m. Grad Night in the Parish Hall. This is an event that the parents, as a group, will plan and sponsor. Meetings for this will begin after Christmas. Calling all St. Mary s Catholic School Alumni! You are invited as our guest to our Inaugural Alumni Dinner Save the Date: January 23, 2016 Come and visit old friends and relive the wonderful memories of St. Mary s Catholic School Visit www.stmarys-temple.org Fill out the info on our Alumni Page. We would love to send you a personal invitation! Important Dates to Remember Tues. Oct. 20 th *Holy Trinity visit for 8 th Graders Wed. Oct. 21 st * Rosary: Elementary Grades 2:00 *Report Cards issued *School Board Meeting 6:00 p.m. Fri. Oct. 23 rd *All School Mass 8:15 a.m. Sat. Oct. 24 th *Trunk or Treat and Fall Festival Mon. Oct. 26 th *Grade 2 singing for a Seniors Group 10:40-1:30 (1 st Methodist Church) Tues. Oct. 27 th *Grades 3,4,5: CAC 8:25-10:30 *Noon Dismissal for Professional Development Wed. Oct. 28 th * Rosary: Junior High 2:00 Thurs. Oct. 29 th *Honor Roll and AR Awards 2:00 p.m. in church Fri. Oct. 30 th *All School Mass 8:15: All Saints Day Mass celebrated (see attached flyer) *Picture retakes *Pep Rally 2:00 p.m. Sat. Oct. 31 st *Happy Trick or Treat Day
Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle B October 25, 2015 This Sunday's Readings First Reading Jeremiah 31:7-9 The Lord declares himself to be the Father of Israel. Responsorial Psalm Psalm 126:1-2,2-3,4-5,6 A song of praise to God who does great things Second Reading Hebrews 5:1-6 Christ was made high priest by God. Gospel Reading Mark 10:46-52 Jesus restores sight to the blind man, Bartimaeus Background on the Gospel Reading Today we continue to read from Mark's Gospel. In this Gospel, we find evidence of Jesus' fame in the sizable crowd that accompanies him as he journeys to Jerusalem. Jesus' reputation as a healer has preceded him. When the blind man, Bartimaeus, hears that Jesus of Nazareth is passing by, he calls out to him, asking for his pity. When Bartimaeus calls out to Jesus, the crowd around him tries to silence him. Yet Bartimaeus persists, calling out more loudly and with greater urgency. He will not be silenced or deterred from getting Jesus' attention. We notice how quickly the crowd's reaction changes when Jesus calls for Bartimaeus. Those who sought to quiet him now encourage him. When Jesus restores Bartimaeus's sight, no elaborate action is required. (In other healing stories in Mark's Gospel, actions accompany Jesus' words). In this instance, Jesus simply says that Bartimaeus's faith has saved him. Throughout Mark's Gospel, the success of Jesus' healing power has often been correlated with the faith of the person requesting Jesus' help. For example, it is because of her faith that the woman with the hemorrhage is healed. When faith is absent, Jesus is unable to heal; we see this after his rejection in Nazareth. Once his sight has been restored, Bartimaeus follows Jesus on his way to Jerusalem. In Mark's Gospel, Bartimaeus is the last disciple called by Jesus before he enters Jerusalem. Bartimaeus hears that Jesus of Nazareth is passing by, but he calls out to Jesus using words of faith Son of
David. Many in Jesus' time believed that the anticipated Jewish Messiah would be a descendent of King David. Bartimaeus's words prepare us for the final episodes of Mark's Gospel, which begin with Jesus' preparation for the Passover and his triumphant entry into Jerusalem. As Mark has shown us in our readings over the past few Sundays, however, Jesus will be the Messiah in a way that will be difficult for many to accept. Jesus will show himself to be the Messiah through his suffering and death.